Giltwood Spread Wing Eagle attributed to William Rush, Philadelphia circa 1810, finely rendered bird depicted with open wings, deeply carved feathers and other features, standing on an orb, elm by microanalysis, probably original surface with traces of gilding and gesso, now set on rectangular metal stand, 13-1/4 x 11-1/2 in. very minor separations and repairs at wing attachments, crack with some infill to wooden orb and across one rear talon, one back toe restored, scattered edge wear and minor losses to wings, other minor cracks and flaws consistent with age and use. Notes: This important eagle relates to several known works by William Rush (1756-1833), America's first sculptor. Likely due to his skills at figurehead carving, Rush received a number of important commissions in the realm of "pure" sculpture, including figures of "Comedy" and "Tragedy" in 1808 for the Chestnut Street Theater in Philadelphia. Other commissions included "Water Nymph and Bittern", " Schuylkill River Chained" and "Schuylkill River Freed". He also executed a number of portrait busts. Rush executed two other eagles, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The eagle offered here most closely relates to the two Cherubim at the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia, comparing closely in both style and technique. The use of Elm in carvings is unusual in both America and Britain of this period, as it is a difficult wood to carve, and also due to deforestation and the demand for elm for use in shipbuilding. The celebrated Treaty Elm, under which William Penn is thought to have signed his famous treaty with the indians at Shackamaxon in 1681, fell in a great gale in 1810, a story that was picked up by numerous newspapers in several states. It was reported that wood from the venerable tree became so prized that the Vandusens, the family who owned the land where it stood, had to have a guard posted to protect it. Philadelphia's elite prized objects that were made from the Treaty Elm (Roberts Vaux acquired enough if the elm to have 8 small boxes made, and presented them to Thomas Cadwalader, Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, and Governor George Wolf, among others). Dr Benjamin Rush (i.e., William Rush's cousin) obtained enough wood to have a chair made. William Rush's web of connections to Roberts Vaux, the Vandusen family, and others suggest he may have been able to obtain wood from the Treaty Elm, and this imposing Peace Eagle may have been fashioned from the famous tree. The eagle's head faces right (in the Dexter position), a symbol of peace, for on the Seal of America, formalized in the late 18th century, the eagle's right would have been toward the olive branches carried in the eagle's right talons. With the possible association to William Penn's Peace Treaty elm, this eagle indeed represents peace, and it also likely represents a rare and important addition to the works of William Rush.. Provenance: A Private Maryland Collection very minor separations and repairs at wing attachments, crack with some infill to wooden orb and across one rear talon, one back toe restored, scattered edge wear and minor losses to wings, other minor cracks and flaws consistent with age and use